John Keells Hotels PLC is a hotel holding company in Sri Lanka. John Keells built its first resort in 1973 in Habarana. John Keells' hotel management company operated under several names. In the 1970s, the company was known as Walkers Tours Hotels. Then in the 1980s, it was known as simply Hotel Management & Marketing Services, and finally, in the 1990s, the company became to known as John Keells Hotels. John Keells ventured into the Maldives in 1996 with the acquisition of Velidhu Resort Hotel. In 2004, the hotel chain underwent a major restructuring. All resorts were brought under John Keells Hotels Limited, and the company was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
 Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon is one of the eight resorts of John Keells Hotels in Sri Lanka | |
| Company type | Public Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| CSE: KHL.N0000 | |
| ISIN | LK0343N00000 |
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Headquarters | , Sri Lanka |
Areas served |
|
Key people |
|
| Brands | Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts |
| Revenue |  LKR28.835 billion (2023) |
| LKR1.742 billion (2023) | |
| LKR(333) million (2023) | |
| Total assets | LKR87.096 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | LKR32.598 billion (2023) |
Number of employees |  2,309 (2023) |
| Parent | John Keells Holdings (80.23%) |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
The company launched Chaaya Hotels & Resorts brand in 2007. Habarana Village was the first resort to be relaunched under the new brand. Subsequently, all resorts in the hotel were relaunched under the Chaaya brand. The rebranding of the resorts in the chain for the second under Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts was completed in 2015. The company's performances were affected by the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. John Keells Hotels is one of the LMD 100 companies in Sri Lanka. The company's brand, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, was the most valuable hospitality brand in Sri Lanka in 2022.
History
editJohn Keells Holdings diversified into the tourism industry with the acquisition of Walkers Tours in 1972. Walkers Tours established its first hotel in Habarana in 1973. John Keells' hotel management company operated under several names throughout its history. In the 1970s, the company was known as Walkers Tours Hotels, and in the 1980s as Hotel Management & Marketing Services Limited and finally, in the 1990s, it came to be known as John Keells Hotels.[2] By 1981, the company was managing seven resorts. Four were beach resorts on the Southern Coast, viz. Beach Hotel Bayroo (present-day Cinnamon Bey Beruwala), Swanee Hotel, Beruwala, Ceysands Hotel, Bentota, and Ambalangoda Rest House. The three resorts in the countryside were Habarana Lodge, Habarana Village and Kandy Walk Inn, which was under construction and later became Cinnamon Citadel Kandy.[3] John Keells acquired Whittall Boustead and gained control of Bentota Beach Hotel and Coral Gardens Hotel (Present-day Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon).[4] In 1993, John Keells owned and managed 900 rooms which accounted for 16% of the room capacity of resorts located outside Colombo.[5] John Keells ventured into the Maldives market in 1996 with the acquisition of the 80-roomed Velidhu Resort Hotel.[6]
John Keells hotel chain underwent a major restructuring in 2004. All resorts, including listed resorts and Maldivian resorts brought under one holding company, Keells Hotels Limited, with the intention of being listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The shares of the four listed companies were brought up by Keells Hotels.[7] John Keells Hotels listed on 17 September 2004.[8] Beach Hotel Beruwala, Coral Gardens Hotel and Club Oceanic Trincomalee were damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Hakuraa Resort in Maldives was also damaged, and it predicted the resort would take six months to reopen. The Bentota Beach Hotel recommenced operations within ten days of the disaster.[9]
John Keells Hotels introduced the "Chaaya Hotels & Resorts" brand in 2007 ITB Berlin. Habarana Village became the first resort launched under the Chaaya brand after refurbishment. The brand took its name from the Sanskrit word Chaaya meaning image.[10] Subsequently, other resorts were also relaunched under the Chaaya brand.[11] The company won the gold award at the ICASL Annual Report Awards in the hotel sector for the third consecutive year in 2011. The awards ceremony is organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.[12] The process of rebranding Chaaya resorts under Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts was completed in 2015. John Keells invested heavily in not only visual upgrades but staff training and audit processes as well in preparation for rebranding.[13] John Keells Hotels closed the Bentota Beach Hotel for renovations in July 2017. At the time, the hotel was a four-star 133-key property.[14] The 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings and closed hotels for renovations affected the company's performance for two quarters back to back.[15] Bentota Beach Hotel was reopened as Cinnamon Bentota Beach in December 2019 after an LKR4.9 billion renovation. The hotel upgraded to a 5-star 159-room resort.[16]
Operations
editJohn Keells Hotels operates twelve resorts in Sri Lanka and Maldives. John Keells Hotels signed an agreement with Indra Traders to build a 160-room three-star hotel which will be called Cinnamon Red Kandy. The US$29.32 million project got the approval of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.[17] John Keells Hotels is one of the LMD 100 companies in Sri Lanka. The company returned to the list in 2022 after displacing from the list in 2021. In 2022, the company was ranked 73rd on the list.[18] The Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts brand was the most valuable hospitality brand in Sri Lanka in 2022. Brand Finance valued the brand value to be LKR3,395 million and ranked 34th in the overall brand list.[19]
Properties
edit
| Property | Rating | No. of rooms | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | |||
| Cinnamon Bentota Beach | Five-star | 159 | Bentota |
| Cinnamon Bey Beruwala | Five-star | 199 | Beruwala |
| Cinnamon Citadel Kandy | Four-star | 119 | Kandy |
| Cinnamon Lodge Habarana | Five-star | 138 | Habarana |
| Cinnamon Red Kandy | Three-star | 216 | Kandy |
| Cinnamon Wild Yala | Four-star | 68 | Yala |
| Habarana Village by Cinnamon | Four-star | 108 | Habarana |
| Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon | Four-star | 150 | Hikkaduwa |
| Trinco Blu by Cinnamon | Four-star | 81 | Trincomalee |
| Maldives | |||
| Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives | Four-star | 152 | Kaafu Atoll |
| Cinnamon Hakuraa Huraa Maldives | Four-star | 100 | Meemu Atoll |
| Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives | Five-star | 90 | Vaavu Atoll |
| Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon | Four-star | 112 | Alif Alif Atoll |
Source: John Keells Holdings PLC Annual Report (2023, p. 150)[20]
| Under construction |
Finances
edit| Year | Revenue LKR (mns) | Profit LKR (mns) | Assets LKR (mns) | Equity LKR (mns) | Earnings per share LKR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 28,835 | (333) | 87,096 | 32,598 | (0.22) |
| 2022 | 13,355 | (1,217) | 83,526 | 30,140 | (0.83) |
| 2021 | 3,661 | (5,120) | 62,475 | 24,431 | (3.50) |
| 2020 | 9,712 | (1,201) | 60,576 | 28,872 | (0.82) |
| 2019 | 11,033 | 832 | 37,250 | 28,897 | 0.56 |
| 2018 | 11,614 | 1,131 | 33,236 | 26,353 | 0.77 |
| 2017 | 12,312 | 1,864 | 32,083 | 24,921 | 1.27 |
| 2016 | 11,632 | 1,749 | 28,900 | 23,018 | 1.19 |
| 2015 | 11,444 | 1,868 | 26,749 | 20,446 | 1.27 |
| 2014 | 10,966 | 1,575 | 26,468 | 18,196 | 1.08 |
Source: Annual Report (2023, pp. 211–214)[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Annual Report 2022/23" (PDF). cse.lk. John Keells Hotels PLC. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ Jayawardena, Chandana (5 February 2023). "The # 1 Sri Lankan Hotel Company in 2023". The Island. Upali Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Jayawardena, Chandana (10 April 2022). "Operating seven resorts". The Island. Upali Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Samath, Feizal (9 July 2000). "It is now time to move on..." The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "John Keells Hotels". Asiamoney. No. 4 (6-7). Euromoney Publications. 1993. p. 31. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Edirimuni Chandrasekera, Duruthu (9 August 2020). "SL firms successfully grow in alien lands". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Edirimuni Chandrasekera, Duruthu (15 August 2004). "JKH expands Keells Super brand". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "John Keells Hotels PLC". cse.lk. Colombo Stock Exchange. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Sirimanna, Shirajiv (4 January 2005). "Most hotels to get due claims". Daily News. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Williams, Esther (6 May 2007). "The Village Habarana now Chaaya". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "'TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2013'". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "John Keells Hotels wins gold for the 3rd year at the annual reports competition". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Rathnayaka, Dineth (1 October 2015). "JKH consolidates all local and int'l hotel properties under Cinnamon brand". Daily Mirror. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Wettasinghe, Chandeepa (1 June 2017). "JKH to demolish and recreate Bawa legacy at Bentota Beach". Daily Mirror. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Easter attacks, property closure drive John Keells Hotels into red". Daily Mirror. Wijeya Newspapers. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Cinnamon Bentota Beach to reopen after Rs. 4.9 bn refurbishment project". Daily News. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "BOI agreement signed for US $ 29mn Cinnamon Red Kandy". Daily Mirror. Wijeya Newspapers. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "LMD 100". lmd.lk. Media Services. 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Sri Lanka 100 2022" (PDF). brandirectory.com. Brand Finance. 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Annual Report 2022/23" (PDF). cse.lk. John Keells Holdings PLC. 2023. p. 150. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
